Confluence Point (48 page)

They agreed on no business,
I have files,
he had said, and this was a time to enjoy a new experience, one he was embarrassingly eager to indulge; understandably so. His nervousness, attentiveness, sweetness, spoke volumes.

In time, despite his delays, there was nothing left but to return. With Ham dragging his reluctant feet they made their way back to the room, an unbearable sadness seeming to settle on him.

"Ham, what's wrong, you seem so sad?"

"Do you need to go now?"

She looked surprised. "Go? Why would I go?" Regan walked ahead into the room pulling at the collar of her garment, unclipping it, and stripping the jacket from her shoulders.

"I thought you would need to, you know; return . . . I didn't expect you."

She turned to look at him. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, no of course not . . ." His words drifted to nothing as she continued to disrobe.

"Ham my darling . . . this is why I'm here, for you. I don't need to go yet." The last piece slipped to the floor and she stood there for him, naked, beautiful.

He coughed, nervously. "I don't understand . . . what about Marin?"

"You know I love Marin, and I love you. This . . . new thing, it's overwhelming for you, I know. Ham . . . I never imagined . . . I'm sure you never imagined this would be possible, but here we are. Yes, I love Marin, and I love Leah, and I also love you. But you, Ham my man, are the only one ever, to truly get deep in here." And with that she raised one hand, slowly . . . to tap her heart. Then she stepped to him and began to slowly remove his clothes.

"Regan, I never dreamed we could . . ." His nervousness was almost painful.

"I know." She slowly peeled the loose fitting suit from his shoulders.

"I know the theory . . ." He gasped as the suit dropped to the floor, his android body trembling.

"I know." She knelt before him, stroking her hands down his hips, his thighs, his calves.

"I could channel some files . . . you know . . . of someone good at this . . ."

"Ham, don't you dare, I want only you, and you're good enough for me." She reached for him, cupping, stroking and then took him in her mouth drawing an immediate response; and then holding him, she lay back on the floor, and urged him down with a single word.

"Here . . ."

Kneeling, he looked at her with such love and then propped himself on his elbows as she guided him inside her. Pulling him down she wrapped her arms around him for a moment in a tight embrace, holding him close before releasing him as he began to thrust, with slow strokes, his eyes locked on hers, drinking in her every response, and savoring every movement.

Regan too, kept her eyes open, enjoying his rapture while mentally adjusting her own receptors, maximizing and yet managing her timing, watching for his reactions and then releasing all restraint as he came so that they climaxed together, a long wonderful moment of shared joy and love.

They lay side by side on the hard floor, neither caring about discomfort. Regan turned to look at him, now lying on his back just staring at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking my love?"

He turned his head to look at her, and then with no hint of humor said . . .

"Shouldn't we be smoking?"

They both laughed like children, rolling together before she pinned him, astride his hips, holding him down at the wrists. She bent forward and kissed him.

"Now Ham, if you're going to keep up, your lessons must begin." And she began to grind against him.

* * *

Leah and Marin would be back in another day she knew, time was running short. Walking with Ham through the park they both avoided discussing her leaving until they reached the lake. Sitting on a bench by the water he turned to her with something clearly on his mind.

"Regan, this is going to sound self serving but really, it's not. I am working, gathering information, but this," and he gestured to his body, the android form, "this body is too important to my kind, I can't keep the gift to myself." And with the words she could feel the immediate transfer of files, passing smoothly through the open curtain.

"They are blueprints for the androids Regan, everything needed to build them. Get them to Dahlia, she'll know what to do with them. I know it won't always be appropriate, but for a Mind, this is a dream. Please, will you do that?"

"Of course I will, in fact it might help me too. And Ham . . . I'll still be back soon, a fortnight at most and it's important you stay focused. There are so many things we need to know, such as are there any threats here? Are they legit? And where are we? We need to know because Aaron's going to get this job done, I know it and I need to be sure I'm not bringing our people into a trap of some kind."

"I'll get it done, and I'll be ok, don't worry."

She kissed him, and then walked slowly with him through the empty park to the tube; it was a short ride to their building, to the room, to the closet . . . and then Dahlia.

* * *

The Searching Saucer

Millions of square kilometers covered over many days and with scant reward. There was so little to show for so much time.

The tiny ADF must have disintegrated, that much was clear. The two men, racing driver and accountant, assumed their usual, relaxed positions, eyeing the screen, a paltry half dozen segments all they had to show for their troubles.

"Only one piece is identifiable, and it's not enough." Nelson rubbed his chin furiously with anxiety.

"Hey, it's not the end of the world, that piece at least tells us something. It was headed outward, no real surprises there and it came from the left wing. Come on, you're the detail man, talk to me."

Nelson grudgingly acknowledged the few points. "We know the box is centre left on the ADF, so I guess it's most likely that as it broke up the box would be somewhere between the trajectory of that piece and whatever the centre line was." He started to perk up at the ideas.

Mario nodded. "Great and we have a fair idea of the centre line, so let's get going."

"Mario, you're having some good ideas, but trust me on this, proper preparation will prevent piss poor performance. We need at least a few more parts to narrow this down. We're looking at trillions of cubic kilometers of space out there and we need at least a half dozen identifiable pieces just to give some idea of the volume we're dealing with."

"Sooo, we keep looking . . ." Mario still looked remarkably cheery.

Day twenty five . . .

* * *

Sindali, looking every bit the diplomatic powerhouse, slipped out of the conference room with suitable decorum. Once outside with the doors closed behind her she broke into a huge smile and pumped her fist, something she'd seen Leah do that she also found most satisfying. Finding a quiet corner she settled down to contact Regan and Marin. Closing her eyes she concentrated.

[Is this a good time?]

Marin replied instantly. [We've been waiting Sin, no problem, how did it go?]

[Very, very well, although I'm not sure you will feel the same way.]

[Just tell us Sin, come on
-
don't tease it out.] Regan subbed.

[Well, it helped that the Premiers of Reubus, Tihan and Acura are all most impressed with their Orbital Minds. The discussions they've had and the assurances given mean they are definitely with us. The unfortunate deaths of the leaders on Fifino and Cora have held things up somewhat, however it seems on Cora at least there is tremendous support from the people. They have heard of the partnership possibilities with you in your system, Regan. Though they lack leadership at the moment they're inclined to accept a titular head and support Tihan in his administration.]

[And Fifino?] Regan asked.

[Fifino is more problematic, they've been thoroughly indoctrinated and no one is confident in their cooperation; it'll need a strong hand.]

[They'll get a strong Ham.] Marin laughed.

[Anyway, we have agreement from Reubus, Tihan, Cora , Acura and of course Dahlia that the Minds are to be accorded full citizenship. They will have responsibility for maintaining order within their own community and the big three, Reubus, Tihan and Dahlia have been accorded oversight responsibility.]

[That's great news Sindali, well done.] Regan was clearly relieved.

[Regan . . . I said you might not feel the same way . . . there's more.]

[Uh-huh?]

[The Minds were only prepared to take up the responsibility under your oversight and covering.]

[What? What does that mean?]

[It means they submit to your leadership alone. Regan, ultimately you're the only one they're prepared to trust. They believe, and I tend to agree, that you're also the only one whose authority is unquestionable.]

[Excuse me but what the . . . unquestionable . . . me?]

[Regan,] Marin interjected, [they're doing this because it's Ham they're wary of, they all respect him but at the same time . . . what's that phrase? He scares the bejesus out of them.]

Regan looked reluctant [So if Ham's the one with the power, why not make him the covering then]

[Regan, for goodness sake, you can be so blind sometimes, Ham's
your
man, and they're counting on you to control him]

[Oh.]

[Regan,] Sindali continued quickly, [it might surprise you but the Premiers are in agreement as they see you as a neutral party. With you in the role no one feels that they're taking second place to another Orbital. They've seen your willingness to help out Dahlia, and to try to work with the people of Cora even though they attacked you. On top of that they can't deny the people support you. They want you to accept a role as titular head of the system. For all intents and purposes it's a ceremonial position . . . except of course they are under no illusions about the reality . . .]

[Ham you mean.] Marin smiled happily.

[Exactly Marin, no one said it directly but I think the Minds are quite clear where the power lies. As long as you're around Regan, as a restraining influence, they are more than comfortable with the arrangement.]

[Babe, this is great, you'll be like a benign dictator.] Marin sounded pleased but Regan wasn't convinced.

[The Premiers, how can they possibly be happy with this?]

[Regan, they're politicians, this way they get to keep their roles and nothing really changes except things run better. They look good, the great statesmen . . . oh and did I mention that they get to keep breathing?]

[Oh come on, they don't really think the Minds would ever do that?]

[Which Mind are we talking about?]

Regan didn't respond for a long moment. [Tell them I'm honored . . . and I'll think about it.]

[Of course, you
must
think about it, it's a big decision . . . but don't leave it too long.]

Sindali opened her eyes and scanned the room, pleased to find she was still alone. She hugged herself, a shiver of excitement passing through her and then broke into a huge smile.

So, Regan leading the system; that can only be good for Dahlia.

She stood confidently to return to the fray,
it's always easy to be the bearer of good news.

* * *

Regan was running out of steam. After ten days of system tours, photo opportunities and hand shaking she was tiring of the attention. Reubus and Tihan were always solicitous of her time, eager to be seen with her whenever they could, as were the Premiers though they quickly moved on to more important matters once the camera opportunities were gone. That suited her fine;
I'm not aiming to change the galaxy!
Sindali was right; little would change, at least in the short term.

Dahlia and Ham concentrated on acquiring all the resources needed for home with insertion ready power sources being the main priority. They could manufacture most of the hardware they needed with the fabricators at Hillary, and now they would return with enough exotic matter to power a fleet. Dahlia's ideas on essentials required both for Hillary Station and the Earth added hugely to their list and it became clear they would need several transports in addition to the Behemoth to freight everything back.

The most interesting cargo on the return back home would be people, Coran family members of those who stayed in the solar system plus around two hundred new Coran youth looking for an adventure. Marin and Leah had vetted them well with Ham's assistance. They were all experienced miners, hard workers and multi skilled. Some would work on building the Orbital, others would move straight to the outer system mining asteroids or to Saturn to mine the moons, harvest methane or some other project that might assist expansion into the solar system.

And,
she thought,
some might even be perfect for an adventure to quite another side of the galaxy.

To house and transport the system immigrants they decided to lease two huge interstellar freighters, one of which would stay as a temporary base for the outer system. The other would commence regular return trips, at least two monthly depending on demand. Aaron's attentions were diverted temporarily to work on the drives and all going well they would have capability to get underway soon should they want to.

The Behemoth would be retained as spoils of war, much to the chagrin of certain Coran officials. In addition Ham assured her at least one other warship would be waiting for her at home.

As they neared the time of departure Regan reviewed her personal plans for the future. Able now to move instantly between star systems, all she needed was a bodily presence in each place to complete the picture. Dahlia would have just such a body for her in weeks, and once home Hilary would do the same for her there. Then she could snap wherever, whenever, with Ham. Just the thought left her breathless, and Ham embarrassingly excited.  

For now she decided to be patient and resist the temptation to snap home. There was another Regan there after all; it could wait.